Have you ever given much thought to customer feedback?  It certainly incites a wide variety of feelings in most people, both good and bad.  Customer service is certainly a frequent topic of discussion.  But do you really listen to your customers?  Or does customer feedback simply go into the circular file, written off as it’s them, not us.

One of the things that my marketing research professor said that’s really stuck with me was that marketing surveys are inherently skewed because unless people feel strongly one way or the other, there’s no motivation for them to respond.  In general customer service is the same way.  If a customer is taking the time to contact you about your product or service, more than likely they have strong feelings about it and more often than not are contacting you because they want you to make it right.

Know what turns an angry customer into a storm of negativity?  Treating their issue like it’s unimportant or worse, ignoring them completely.

Know what can turn an angry customer into a brand advocate?  Taking the time to truly listen to them and when possible addressing their issue.  While a customer certainly will appreciate a company that goes above and beyond to address their issue, sometimes, just having the company acknowledge their opinion and take it into consideration is enough.  Remember, if they didn’t care, they wouldn’t bother.